Bradford captain: Mom, daughters attack deputy

1 stunned with Taser; 3 arrested

Three Bradford County women are accused of battery on a law enforcement officer after a confrontation with deputies on Sunday morning.

Two sisters and their mother were arrested after one of the women reportedly jumped on a deputy's back during the incident between 8 and 9 a.m. on State Road 100 between Lake Butler and Starke. Deputies said they had to use a Taser gun to subdue one of the women.

Channel 4's Vic Micolucci spoke with Glenda Richerson Sunday afternoon at the sheriff's station in Starke. She said was just walking to the grocery store with her mother and sister when a deputy pulled up and offered them a ride. She said she declined, but deputies said they discovered she had two warrants out for her arrest and had to arrest her.

That's when things got violent. The deputy said Glenda resisted arrest, wouldn't let him handcuff her, and was trying to fight him. The deputy said he responded with his Taser gun. Once Glenda was stunned with the Taser, her mother and sister jumped on the deputy's back and started attacking him, the deputy said.

Glenda disputes key parts of the deputy's story.

"He got mad and that's when he started pushing his weight around, pushing me on the ground," said Glenda. "And I turned and fell on my stomach. That's when I fell on my arm, nearly broke my arm, and that's when he put a Taser to my back. I was on the ground already, and that's when he Tasered me. I felt like I'd been electrocuted. He (Tased) my mother, (too). She got a bad place in her arm and she’s 76. And my sister. My sister and I, we did not touch him."

The deputy said he was just protecting himself. Capt. Brad Smith with the Bradford County Sheriff's Office said the agency has investigated what happened and believes the deputy handled the situation correctly.

"In this particular case, we don't see anything that the deputy did inappropriately. As a matter of fact, three against one, even with the fact that they're women and one of them elderly, they can still seriously hurt the officers, seriously hurt themselves or innocent people driving by. And the officer was able to handle the situation well enough to get everyone contained and nobody hurt seriously enough to where they had to go to the hospital," said Smith.

Glenda said she plans to file a lawsuit against the Sheriff's Office for what happened.

All three women were booked into the Bradford County jail. Officials said they're conducting mental health evaluations on them. At a first appearance hearing Monday morning, Glenda Richerson was ordered held on the two previous warrants, but her mother and sister were released on the battery charge.

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